Celebrating in the Woods

 

Regular readers might remember that we'd planned an outdoor Thanksgiving get together a couple of weeks ago that was rained out. Everyone had been so looking forward to it, so we planned a similar event to celebrate the three October/November birthdays in the family. 

Goldstream Park is nestled in a narrow valley at the head of the Saanich Inlet. The park is particularly popular in the autumn when the salmon spawn. Lots of cars filled the parking lot, but after arriving around 2:30, we had to wait just a few moments until someone left.

In the deeply shaded park little sun penetrated to warm us up, and we were very glad for layers of clothing including gloves and hats. 

In the river salmon swam upstream, laying their eggs where they themselves had once hatched. Gulls circled and watched for fish to weaken and die, pulling them onto sandy banks to feed on them. I didn't see bald eagles yesterday, but later they will come to gorge themselves on the dying salmon. It's an interesting and not-very-pretty part of the cycle of nature. 

A pair of Stellar's Jays flitted in the trees near our camp set up, perhaps looking for a treat to steal. They are notoriously greedy birds. 

Also very interested in our picnic was a curious squirrel. He finally decided there was too much commotion for him to steal a treat and scampered off elsewhere. 

Many of the trees here are cedar, but there are huge maple trees as well that carpet the forest floor with leaves, slowly decomposing to add nutrients to the soil. 

It was a casual gathering. People took off for little walks along the river while others stayed around the campfire. The two older grand girls became engrossed in a game that involved drying moss and bark against the fire ring. How easily they entertain themselves in nature. I love to see it. 

In that narrow valley darkness fell quickly. I happened to look up close to 4:30 and saw the last line of sunlight along the hill.

 Here are the birthday girls with cupcakes made by our youngest daughter. (In the photo our eldest daughter is in the middle and our daughter-in-law on the right.) Once darkness fell we packed up and headed home, smelling of campfire smoke and replete with a meal everyone contributed to. It was a fun time for everyone, and I'm so glad it worked out this time. Our wonderful Provincial Health Officer has encouraged us to limit time indoors with others and to be careful with how many people we associate with. For us it's just family at this point, other than school (for me) and work (for Tim). Our children are mostly working from home.